Most people think handsfree is okay, but it's bullshit. The problem with phones is that drivers' brains are distracted from driving, not that their hands aren't on the wheel (although that too is problematic).
I had a friend call me while driving on a 35 MPH road with not much traffic. While talking to me, he came to a 4-way stop, ran it because he was distracted, and could have easily caused a wreck. I tell people "don't call me while you're driving!" but they do it anyway. After running the 4-way stop (with other cars at the intersection), he pulled over, told me what happened, and swore off using the phone while driving.
A couple of years ago while stopped at an intersection, some dumb woman slammed into me (and the next 2 cars ahead of me) and her car ended up in the oncoming traffic lane facing the other direction. So not a "she bumped my fender" kind of wreck. My car was totaled, I had $46K in medical bills, multiple CT scans, X-rays, surgery to fixed a smashed nose, a 2nd surgery to fixup the 1st surgery, 25 Dr appointments during the height of Covid, and there was a person with Covid right next to me in the ER the day of the wreck.
Was it really worth it for that person to be able to text while driving?
To top it off, the fine in KY for texting while driving is $25. Big deterrent, right?
> Most people think handsfree is okay, but it's bullshit. The problem with phones is that drivers' brains are distracted from driving, not that their hands aren't on the wheel (although that too is problematic).
Yup.
Counterintuitively talking with someone who is in the car with you is much less dangerous than talking with someone on a phone.
A big reason for this is that a passenger can see when you are doing something that needs more attention. The conversation can naturally adjust to match the amount of attention that you can safely spare.
The fines for driving in the US are absurdly low in general. Through our laws incentivizing driving cars at every stage we have created a car centric society. Part of this is our laws with low fines and punishments. Realistically, someone texting and driving should have their license revoked, and probably a 4 or 5 figure fine. And many other driving offenses should as well.
The less-comfortable reason is that concern for others’ wellbeing is at an all time low. I regularly see outright aggressive driving, ESPECIALLY when I’m in California. People are stressed and they are taking it out on strangers.
rail is a safe investment to make for our future. a good counterargument here to a thread such as this one from yesterday griping about the ballooning costs of CA HSR
Rail is a great investment. The US, and California especially, does a lot of self inflicted wounds between strict zoning requirements, unnecessary environmental assessments, priority to vehicles, endless nimby local meetings, etc.
I would be interested to see comparisons in app usage statistics between countries compared to similar highway fatality statistics for those countries.
For many people in many countries that aren't the US, trading [Whatsapp] voice memos is one of the only ways people interact with each other through their phones. I would imagine that chatting with your friends becomes a lot easier and probably safer if you're doing it that way while driving.
Smartphones have been around for long enough now -- I don't know whether I agree with the titular claim. I think the phone/distraction addiction is more of a symptom of something else.
I've seen somewhere on twitter a thread positing that Covid changed people's brains (long covid especially), but let's take that with a grain of sand maybe.
Right neighbourhood anyway, it seems the rise in these behaviours coincides with the rise of the pandemic.
The penalties for getting caught speeding or with your smartphone are too lenient. That's why people text and drive. "It won't happen to me" mentality is too pervasive.
Get caught using your phone? Lose your license.
Excessive speeding? $MEGAHUGE ticket on first offense; lose your license on second attempt.
I simply can't read messages and type with my fingers if I wanted to, while moving. Do people really do that without immediately crashing?
Or is using Google Maps with Android Auto and tapping to view incoming texts what should be a felony?
If looking away from the road is the problem, then we should prohibit any controls in the center console for climate control or radios, and...passengers?
>Texting and driving ought to be treated similarly to a felony DUI.
And that's how we have a police state. Honestly, emotions and laws really don't mix, that's how we have more people incarcerated both per capita and in total numbers than any other country in the world.
"Super-predators," gets votes, but the repercussions were pretty horrible.
Something much less horrible would be to make gasoline super expensive like in Europe, or lower the speed limit to a speed that is much less likely to cause fatalities, or do an old fashioned marketing / awareness push. The More You Know.
Also, the article seems to be speculating on the cause:
>How many of those deaths involved distracted driving?
>“It’s much bigger than the data show,” said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Data collection methods are so riddled with problems, he said, that reliable estimates are difficult if not impossible.
So it's bigger than the data shows, but reliable estimates are difficult or impossible, so it seems he's talking out his ass.
Maybe it's because many more people were working at home in 2021-2022.
Can’t mobOSes disable all functionality on movement above X/mph —perhaps allow it only if another device is in proximity (such as passenger presence, in public transit, etc), except for hands-free voice calls?
[+] [-] prirun|3 years ago|reply
I had a friend call me while driving on a 35 MPH road with not much traffic. While talking to me, he came to a 4-way stop, ran it because he was distracted, and could have easily caused a wreck. I tell people "don't call me while you're driving!" but they do it anyway. After running the 4-way stop (with other cars at the intersection), he pulled over, told me what happened, and swore off using the phone while driving.
A couple of years ago while stopped at an intersection, some dumb woman slammed into me (and the next 2 cars ahead of me) and her car ended up in the oncoming traffic lane facing the other direction. So not a "she bumped my fender" kind of wreck. My car was totaled, I had $46K in medical bills, multiple CT scans, X-rays, surgery to fixed a smashed nose, a 2nd surgery to fixup the 1st surgery, 25 Dr appointments during the height of Covid, and there was a person with Covid right next to me in the ER the day of the wreck.
Was it really worth it for that person to be able to text while driving?
To top it off, the fine in KY for texting while driving is $25. Big deterrent, right?
[+] [-] tzs|3 years ago|reply
Yup.
Counterintuitively talking with someone who is in the car with you is much less dangerous than talking with someone on a phone.
A big reason for this is that a passenger can see when you are doing something that needs more attention. The conversation can naturally adjust to match the amount of attention that you can safely spare.
[+] [-] ecshafer|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xnx|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jcpsimmons|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lisasays|3 years ago|reply
Driven in turn by a lack of empathy, and a sense of feeling interconnected with others. As fueled, in turn, by smartphones.
[+] [-] btbuildem|3 years ago|reply
I routinely witness people brazenly running red lights, and my instinct is to throw bricks at them -- so how am I not part of the problem?
I don't really know how we back away from this.
[+] [-] riffic|3 years ago|reply
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35157023
[+] [-] ecshafer|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] uoaei|3 years ago|reply
I would be interested to see comparisons in app usage statistics between countries compared to similar highway fatality statistics for those countries.
For many people in many countries that aren't the US, trading [Whatsapp] voice memos is one of the only ways people interact with each other through their phones. I would imagine that chatting with your friends becomes a lot easier and probably safer if you're doing it that way while driving.
[+] [-] btbuildem|3 years ago|reply
I've seen somewhere on twitter a thread positing that Covid changed people's brains (long covid especially), but let's take that with a grain of sand maybe.
Right neighbourhood anyway, it seems the rise in these behaviours coincides with the rise of the pandemic.
[+] [-] nunez|3 years ago|reply
Get caught using your phone? Lose your license.
Excessive speeding? $MEGAHUGE ticket on first offense; lose your license on second attempt.
[+] [-] 1-6|3 years ago|reply
Contextual predictions will make word input and browser automation vastly more useful.
[+] [-] pascoej|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vba616|3 years ago|reply
I simply can't read messages and type with my fingers if I wanted to, while moving. Do people really do that without immediately crashing?
Or is using Google Maps with Android Auto and tapping to view incoming texts what should be a felony?
If looking away from the road is the problem, then we should prohibit any controls in the center console for climate control or radios, and...passengers?
[+] [-] zoklet-enjoyer|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scoofy|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nerdchum|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Clubber|3 years ago|reply
And that's how we have a police state. Honestly, emotions and laws really don't mix, that's how we have more people incarcerated both per capita and in total numbers than any other country in the world.
"Super-predators," gets votes, but the repercussions were pretty horrible.
Something much less horrible would be to make gasoline super expensive like in Europe, or lower the speed limit to a speed that is much less likely to cause fatalities, or do an old fashioned marketing / awareness push. The More You Know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_More_You_Know
Also, the article seems to be speculating on the cause:
>How many of those deaths involved distracted driving?
>“It’s much bigger than the data show,” said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Data collection methods are so riddled with problems, he said, that reliable estimates are difficult if not impossible.
So it's bigger than the data shows, but reliable estimates are difficult or impossible, so it seems he's talking out his ass.
Maybe it's because many more people were working at home in 2021-2022.
[+] [-] mc32|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] notch898a|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] codevark|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]